*°* 



u, 



<j5°* 



$9* 



$ 






. \ V . * • o . *7-> „ ft* . » * ' ' **-, 



P siZL:* «> 














^ 









^ ,.0-.,. ^ 



^ ^6* ? 



v 











?\ '. 

















* *0 









)* •i^L'* 



^ **-o 9 v& 



V 







"O, * rf , 










^- ' 




/CiA^yv>^j*4L«4U$ 



REPLY 



TO A LETTER ADDRESSED TO 

MR. VAI¥ BUREIV, 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES ; 

PURI'ORTINO TO BE WRITTEN BY MISS LUCY KENNY, THE WHIG 
MISSIONARY ; 

The object of this lady, from her own statement, is to vindicate our na- 
vy from the foul calumny cast upon it, (by our President and his cabinet, 
through the polluted official organ of the Government, the Globe ;) but a 
superficial reader, must at once discover, that is not her object; the hal- 
lowed flame of patriotism warms not her bosom — her devotional feelings 
cling not around our beloved country's honor — the sigh of regret swells 
not her breast, when her country's prosperity is chilled and languid — 
the tear of sympathy bedews not her cheek, when the bulwark of her 
country's happiness and safety groans beneath a cloud of woes, thick 
as the" envenomed imagination of demoniac whiggery, can throw 
around it and her faithful servants, in their steady onward course for 
their country's welfare. Polluted as the fount of opposition is, to our 
President and the measures of our Government, they should, if they 
possessed one genuine feeling for their country's honor and increasing 
greatness (which they arrogate to themselves so exclusively to possess) 
evidence their love of country, by throwing the mantle of charity over 
the errors of our public servants, (if any they should discover;) human 
nature is liable to err, and when mortals are elevated to the highest 
pinnacle of honor and responsibility, it does not divest them of the frail- 
ties that belong to man; in an imperfect mortal state, he can not act at 
all times with Tnnnnte wisdom and foresight; they are attributes, that 
alone belong to deity; but in the exercise of their duty, should their 
plans and measures, formed on the dictates of reason, judgment, and a 
clear view of causes, which always produce certain effects ; frustration 
and confusion should baffle for a time the carrying out of those views and 
measures, formed on the firm basis of republican principles; the strong 
arm on which rests our country's safety, dignity and honor. Every true 
patriot who loves his country and his country's good, above all minor 
considerations, should shield the imperfections of her servants invested 
with the command of the ship of State, who majestically spreads every 
flowing canvass to the strong breeze of Democracy, ever true and firm j 



£.*&* 

K* 



u^ 



and united they will stearher in glorious triumph through the billows that 
dash against her on every side, and threaten to engulf her beneath the 
surges oi volcanic wrath, emited from every spray, embalmed with the 
t ra S l ' ;;,; '' '" ■ "'■ sha ; and cypress, that twine a wreath 

f ; r lh f Perishing h »p s I ,i paper currei)cy> Stil j 

, f .' ' ■ ' r- noblj breast the storm- 

defies the palling of its power, and persues her destined course 

clear or shoals and quick sands, with an eye ever true to the precious 
charge with which she is Iadened. The honor, dignify, and prosperity of 
her country, and her country's sacred rights; may her voyage through 
tempests, and often tossed with breakers— seen, and unseen, that ann. 
to dash her to destruction, and then banquet on her ruins, be prosper- 
ous and radiant as the si inary, whose brightness is often obscur- 
ed by passing clouds, yet she moves on with resplendent -lory her des- 
tined round. 

It is to vindicate our navy (from the foul calumny cast upon it through 
the Globe,) and present it pure and uncontaminated before the public, 
was l.Lss Kenny's object— why did she not first investigate the mat- 
ter, and clearly ascertain the author of the charges she has undertaken 
to refute; ;t surely is a privilege granted to all honorable disputants, to 
ascertain the source, as well as the cause, from whence comes the in- 
sult, before taey can hurl forth at random their resentment, and vitupera- 
tions. \\ e are bound by every honorable feeling and motive, to respect 
the iae lings of others, even should they be a fallen foe, and never betray 
a friend, if peradventure, in after life, we meet as enemies. 

Our navy, I presume, that has stood so long the glory and admira- 
tion of our country, does not want courage boldly to come forward, and 
defend its unsullied honor; that honor, bright, pure and invincible. 
Which huned dismay, confusion, and death, through a British fleet of 
heartless invaders, who were strangers to honor and mercy in nation- 
al contest; that honor, which concentrated upon our troubled waves. 
in days gone by, with a dazzling radiance; that threw around our pacre 
o history imperishable greatness. Those chivalric sons of fame and 
glory, who are racked upon the billow's foam, whose hardships and toils 
are light for their country's good ; they who stand the ready vindicators 
of our country's unsullied honor, think ye they would, in the bosom of 
their own native shore, if they are assailed, and vilified by the tongue 
of misrepresentation, they need the scorpion pen of a whig missionary 
to vindicate sheir cause— no ! if their allegations are false, their redress 
is sure. 

All her artillery of combustibles appears to be aimed at our President 
and h.s cabinet. What would he or his cabinet have to do with the li- 
bel? are they responsible for what appears in the Globe, or any public 
journal, unless they .ire the author, and even if they are, to whom are 
they accountable for their observation, public or private ? to those only 
whom the remarks embrace, and they I have no doubt, will receive all 
the satisfaction the case demands, without the aid of a whig con 
tion, to exercise their fruitful powers of invention, to cast around the 
subject the darkest shades of coloring, and then vent their malignant 
shafts Qf hate, ever aimed at our present administratiou. Envy and hatred 



always aim at a lofty mark, and groveling and contracted minds con- 
temn that greatness it can not reach. 

The reason Miss Kenney assigns for addressing her -letter. to the 
President, (is, that he has adopted the maxims and principles of his il- 
lustrious predecessor, and had pledged himself to follow in bis foot- 
steps ;) if that were true, he surely had some claim to her respect and 
good feeling; for his predecessor stood unequalled in her estimation ; 
and first, in her warm regard, his administration was one of sound poiicy, 
and carried out through all his measures, by the pure republican princi- 
ples of Democracy ; and Mr. Van Buren persues the same course, 
adopts the same measures, sustains the same principles, and yet he is 
obnoxious in all points, wherein he agrees with his predecessor; there 
is a irreconcilable inconstancy winch I must leave to her prompters to 
illucidate and harmonize. 

It is true, that if our proudest hopes are disappointed, it has a ten- 
dency to sour the mind, and cause us to view things with prejudice and 
irritated feelings. The poet has very forcibly portrayed the feelings of 
disappointment in two lines: 

*' Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, 
Nor hell a fury like a woman's scorn." 

Mr. Van Buren has been unfortunate in being the mark at which so 
many barbed arrows have been aimed, winged with envenomed poison 
and political hostility, and its still more to be lamented, that an artil- 
lery of destructive missiles, are hurled against him by the hand cf a fair 
lady, and that lady famed for her literary talents and high patriotic spirit. 
Literature softens and controls the turbulent feelings, when persued by 
a mind, charmed and expanded by its study; but when we grasp the 
shadow, and present to the public, some of the streams flowing from 
the luminous fountain ot erudition, drawn from the resources of another, 
and passed off as the grave production of our own mind ; 'lis then they 
shadow forth the views, feelings and sentiments of an others, while 
their own minds are barren, unimproved, and destitute : its an open field, 
to be used for political purposes, incendiary moves, and [nation 

of character; the female mind should be enlightened on all subjects, 
within its range of comprehension ; it should cling with sacrilegious 
devotion to all the pure and refined sources of improvement; delicacy 
of stile particularly belongs to the female pen, if she expects to have 
any just claim to public patronage ; but when she appears before the 
world a political bully, flourishing her weapons of diabolic destruction 
against the President, heads of department, and every measure, act and 
thought of our Government, even the independent press, that free chan- 
nel of communication, for old and young, rich and poor, escapes not the 
venom of her heart and reproach. 

I am constrained to say, O shame, where is thy blush? When she ex- 
ercises her mental powers (however limited and imperfect they may be) 
for the good of society, by throwing her vi and sentiv 

into the circle of domestic life, where every mind is, in part, formed 
for the higher and more public scenes of life, with a charm of interest 



that belong to incidence of truth, chastened by the elevated &ekufior 
an improved and benevolent mind-'tis then, no matter how feeble the 
effort maybe, if she with truth and honesty woo public favor she w 11 
surolv -rain it, as the reward due to merit— but if she marsha a in _ the 
field of political controversy, a battalion of slander, falsehood, recnmi- 
nation, and a host of imputations against our sacred Government (lor 
its honor should be held sacred by every honest American) which is her 
shield, her protection and refuge. When she presents herself the bold 
champion of whig despotism, reckless of character, feelings ™*™* 
is dearer still, the honor of our country, at home and abroad tie then 
her altitude is formidable indeed— her position assumes a fearful aspect 
She comes forward, (if I am permitted to judge from the spirit and color 
of her letter,) to arreign the President and the heads of department, and 
even of an independent press, pronounced free as the perfumed zephyr 
that cast its mellow fragrance around the humble cottage, with the same 
rich luxuriance, as the palace of the great and powerful, ^ occupying 
the situation they do, and not building upon the unsafe and dangerous 
whi* system, that can not be carried by a republic, that will think and 
act for" itself-their acts have demonstrated their reasoning reflecting 
powers; and Mr. Van Buren was the President of their c^oicend 
they, with true hearts, and loud voices proclaimed him legallj entitled 
to that distinguished elevation of honor, to which I hope he will oe 
true, firm, and unwavering, and fear not the howling monsters that lay 
in ambush to devour, but move on with lofty, dignified perseverance 
for his country's peace and prosperity, and may his country newpjore 
ungrateful for his services, while they bear in mind that »jp* t ™«» 
one of the blackest crimes, and stands exposed to the wrath oi heaven 
and the indignation ot all good men. He has thus far proved himself 
worthy the trust and confidence of the people— he has preserved our 
rights and lepublic from the destructive movements and designs 01 a 
mercenary, ambitious despot, (Mr. Nick Biddle,) who it appears to me 
would compass heaven and earth, to be hailed universally as lord and 
master of yonder dilapidated shin-plaster factory, whoes vaults are cursed 
of heaven, for there has the poor laborer vested his all; its true, it was 
but a pittance; yet it was his, earnt by the sweat of bis brow, and in 
their unhallowed vaults, he lost all he had on earth and now behold 
his bewared offspring, and destitute partner of his bosom— the snare 
of his'toils and misfortunes. Oh! man, if you have a heart to feel, sport 
not with the orphan's right and widow's tears. 

"Man wants but little here below, 
for wants that little long." 

What war, the < ondition of our country in 1S3T— misery and woe was 
shrouded in ever run lan form, thatstalked about our world, like fright- 
ened appariti , who had fled from the machinations and treachery ot 
that faithless shin-plaster factory, stripped and divested oi all, but the 
vapor life, and that in many cases, was thought not worth preserving, 
and thrown awaj among the general ruin, as a d< : timofthede- 

8tructive influence of that shin-plaster volcano. 



This is the heidious monster, whose mouth is an open sepulcl.ro 

that has devoured property, happiness, prosperity, hon and 

ntLritv of thousands who have been im " ! 
wtXSft! and sent many of them in a mom 
toa murderer' • Where now are their berea> 

^tlreni open a pitUl.- world , IWng r of -her 

dark nefarious deeds; this is the measure of woe .a... wi oi ess, 

that move on with the flow of monopoly ; at one moment ■ ! he 

W;c:::of.pecula t H>n,attl 1 enext,theebbio!^ ; wrecked 

shefays a float L wreck, tossed upon the bill >ws of hope and dispair 

whe 7 must leave her to the stratagem, intrigue and ingenuity of hei 

Lrt z^ ns to hoisi : her a strong breeze of borrowed 

whichTiil to try her luck again upon the ocean of 

u at on an ■" — ' ' ■ l ° 

™«™ L ^y * enney > t] ; c np - p riw " suonlf 

• , erV man does ins duty, that she may not run into the clear, strong, 

n 7pure waters of Democracy, which she will una too rapid for 

Pliced and patched bottom; and then peradvenlure she again 

.' nd iss Lucy will lose her appointment and pay ; lor the L ni, 

3tatqB ] ank is not prompt to discharge its obligations. 

'his s the volcano from whence issues the burning lava that is tor 

v pouring out its effluvia upon the head of the President and all 

V, c ted with the Government, and for what? General Jackson when 

o power, said that the Bank of the United States, was a vul- 

ture^dTf permitted to accumulate her power and influence, would in 

" m 6 e !! and perhaps at a moment when we were not prepared to meet the 

convnls've deran-ement that would clothe our country with embarrass- 

ir ofLchanc .'of vipers, which was infusing their .deadly poisons into 

'very departS of business, and coiling themselves up W ,th a— 

: if *~ m ,,, in ( PQitpvatn nunw imo trie ucasuiv ci 

SToSaiSS 1 . u '. e ^caS ™ too strong-i. was guarded 

^wisdom of'the country-it was protected by a ph. lanx of b are 

pinching, -ocompr^ising *™<™^ ^^Zllltel 
fhpir r.nnntrv s sake, wno liau i.un< i < ■< ,>..' " . ,. .... 

wrecked upon the Leakers of a monarch, monied mstitu ion. At that 
noTn thev were forcibly defeated-confusion, horror, and dismay filled 
E anks and hatred mal.ee, and revenge agitated and st.lt rankles 

he Iks'-, .-every scheme that malice could dov.so-evny .nvec- 
wi that hatred could suggest-every malignant design that revenge 

l!i in rl loud and appalling (to a mind of honor and generosity of 
T/) as the' ttnderVoKheVen against General Jackson and h.sad- 



6 

ministration, down to Mr. Van Buren, and now they are carrying him 
through the fiery furnace, but he will c me out like gold pu-ffied bv the 
fia,J(1 of the when the storm raves around 

lf ' ' lime-worn trunk, may be shivered 

but n ' 

:, i > find some 
efficient means to strip th i the political ground they 

by right occupy— why have ■ a -■•. ceeded ere this? Thev 
hav ienta] and physical— they have defaced the 

honor o! their country, by a dark list of falseho »d, defamation and slan- 
der against those in power, and their darling object is not yet obtained ■ 
they go about he a troubled spirit, catching at every act, word and 
thought to pervert them, and throw around them the mantle of power 
stained with guilt and crime— is this honorable? is this the path the 
the gr at and good persued to obtain a high and elevated post of honor 3 
No ! It appears to me their store-house of ingenuity must be exhaust- 
less— they now turn to one broken reed, shaken with the wind, and then 
another; at last they hit upon a fair lady to accomplish their oft defeated 
but still fondly cherished object. They have enlisted her (for she is 
not a regular officer in the political ranks; she needs discipline) and fit- 
ted her out with her weapons, sharp, strong, and deadly for the battle- 
she is to gam the palm of victory, and then to be etherial. By the Whiff 
magicians, every laborer is worthy of his hire, "and she no' doubt will 
be true to her trust." 

She enters on the work of reform, and the overthrow of the present 
administration, an ! recharteringof the Hank of the United States (I had 
sooner undertake to rebuild Rome without means,) w; h sanauine ex- 
pectation of success. She presents herself the champion of Whiff riffhts 
and bank restoration, with a bundle of asps i„ her hand. The work is 
to be done; buj me and -ead : fori urne is as strono- as the ffale 

ol th lIld as fatal ! will change every breeze^to 

u ' alt the im P' ; '■ and faults of her fellow bein us, prone to err like 

herself, to earth's rem..:- i 1 ounds. Is this like a generous noble pa- 
triotic spirit? No! Woman thy name is frailty. 

" Teach me to feel another's woe, 
To hi !e the fault I see; 
That mercy I to others show, 
That mercy show to me." 

V ': > ; mttheh »k she is selling. [ would ask why Miss Kenny 

addresses her letter of abuse and slander to Mr. Van Huron, the Presi- 
dent of the United States? I ask, with all due respect to her right of 
proceeding,— if any she has,— is he to be assailed by the foul tonaue of 
slander, springing from the hearts of envy and hatred, that only belongs 
to d is he to b • charged with the impropriety, <n:i!t and crime 

committed undi r his administration ? [fso, the glory thai shines around 
Ins policy and mea ures, would be shrouded with the sable rarb of 
mourning. 

He has pledged himself to guard, protect, and sustain the rights of the 
people, who have choose him and elevated him to the presidential chair, 



. -rule and watch overthem with vigilantand parental solicitude, our hap- 
piness and prosperity, at home and abroad — to repel with bold i'.nn- 
ness and unflinching promptitude every advance from an opposing par- 
ty, to wrest from the American people their sacred, hlcst, and blood- 
bought rights. lie has redeemed his pledge thus far, with honor, with 
justice, with truth ; for which he should be dear to every honest citizen 
— to every pure patriot — to every heart whose interest and happiness 
is identified with their country's weal or woe. "Tine, he did not 
pledge himself to purify the hearts of malice" — to take from the enven- 
omed tongue of slander, the venom of its sting! He did not pledge 
himself to reign over the dark spirits who are represented in the sacred 
word of God, as going about as a roaring lion, seeking whom they may 
devour; whose mouth is an open sepulchre, and the poison of asps is 
under theirtongue ; they belch up great swelling words of wrath and de- 
struction, but they are lost in empty nothing, before the pure and refulgent 
rays of truth, honor and justice. And we have sacred and profane his- 
tory, as well as our own observation and experience to prove and sub- 
stantiate the fact, that malice, envy and despotism, are always sure to 
aim and vent their unhallownd designs and feelings, a gainst that excel- 
lence and worth, that it can neither appreciate or attain; and the more 
direful the purposes that rankle in the bosom of imbition, so 

sure they are vented on a lofty mark. I will only no : from 

sacred history, to illustrate my remarks. '■•'■■ 

spired historian', that the Prince of <! ... overturn the 

Kingdom of the most high God, and usurp universal power and do- 
minion ; he was defeated in his unlawful, nef: i n, and 
was hurled by the arm of justice and power of omnipotence into the 
dark abode of everlasting misery and woe, there to agonize with all the 
torments of a disappointed and fallen spirit; and against the author of 
his defeat and the government of heaven, are all his chagrin, diabolical 
and infuriated powers directed, with all the poison of hatred and malice 
that agitate his unholy bosom, and though he knows he never can gain 
supremacy over justice, honor, and truth, and destroy the firm founda- 
tion on which the government of heaven is sustained, or weaken that arm, 
strong for its defence ; with laws for its protection, holy, just, and good, 
that throw around the subjects of the Most High the mantle of peace ; safety 
and happiness; yet there is no design a dark spirit could invent, to destroy 
that peace, which is a stranger to his own bosom. He does not medi- 
tate — there is no plot that malice could invent to blight that happiness, 
he can never enjoy — there is no motive that hatred could surmise to dis- 
honor, agitate, and embarrass those measures, formed in wisdom and 
carried out with universal good and general happiness in view, that his 
soul does not struggle to accomplish : and at hist, what docs it ail avail ? 
It is like impotency, struggling against a strong current — exh; 
the ocean is the consequence. 

Mr. Van Buren has no reason to believe the current of irood, true, 
genuine feeling is against him ; tar otherwise — these ebullitions of 
wrath and defamation, prove just the rey.ei can not accon 

their desired object, and will seek again the covert of their own con- 
genial clime. 



Move onward thou chosen hero, i;i thy country's sacred, glorious 
cause. A republic, ever warm and true, has Uvjoiared you their ruler, 
their guardian and friend; and while the husbandman gathers in the 
harvest of his peaceful toil, and his heart swells with gratitude for the 
blessing, he will sustain you ; and where are the mechanics — those 
hardy, noble sons of ingenuity, honesty, industry, and wealth; they are 
not unmindful of the price they paid for their dear bought freedom. Let 
yonder crimsoned plain speak their sires last expiring agonies ; that 
cling with unsubdued devotion around their rights, their country's hon- 
or and independence ; and will they forsake the hallowed charge com- 
mitted to their care ; will they prove recreant to that legacy purcdiased 
with the priceless stream of life ; will the glow of patriotic fire ever 
cease to warm their bosoms, caught from the hallowed flame that sup- 
ported and cheered their forefathers through the toils, hardships, and 
sufferings of war, there to offer themselves a living sacrifice at the altar 
of liberty. No, never, while history's faithful page, points to their- 
deeds of valor. The halo of glory that encircded their immortal spirits, 
when their disembodied souls bid adieu to the wounded, lacerated, bleed- 
ing tenement of clay, and winged their way with palms of victory in their 
hands, to the celestial shores of peace and happiness — forbid it heaven. 
Let yonder bright luminary, in the starry firmanent, forget to run its destine 
course — forget to throw his reviving, resplendent rays over a world of 
nature, dependent on his munificent bounty ; ere the mechanical part 
of our fruitful soil should forget their home, their peaceful fireside, 
their interest, their country, their injured, their bleeding country, that 
looks to them to put their shoulders to the wheel with united firmness, 
(as in time gone by,) and rescue her mangled, dishonored, and weep- 
ing, (so she is) from the dangerous designs of bank, demi-gods and Whig 
furies, which have made her mourn for the wrongs and sufferings of her 
cherishnd sons and daughters. You will, you are constrained by every 
pulse of honor that numbers the deeds of greatness that has gone before 
you, to be firm and true, to tin; pure democratic principles that has 
through dangers, peril, and the sword, bought for you the blessings you 
now enjoy. Could you forsake her now in the day of trial, when she 
with bleeding heart, imploring hands and weeping eyes, looks to the 
democracy in power, to deliver her from the thraldom of corporated con- 
federacy'? "That has numbered her woes thick as the sand upou the 
desart shore ;" thai, has plunged the assassin's mid-nighl dagger, deep, 
deadly, reakingwith a nation's blood to her bosom's core ; that has vili- 
fied her faithful servants, for clinging with unshaken firmness to their 
country's honor anil sacred trust. 

They have held them up !'> a nation's gaze, stained with guilt and 
caime, (through the agency of a Whig missionary, Miss Lucy Kenny:) 
and no epithel in the vocabulary of darkness, but is brought forward to 
act upon their measures, their station and i r. "0 my country, 

how art thou fallen!" Is this the spirit, the Ian i orthy the sons 
of America? Is this the style, the pure and refined source of delicacy, 
that Bhould flow from the mind and guide the "pen of the American 
fair?" Is this the fountain from whence man draws all the soft, gentle 
emotions and feelinga thai throw around the ru ■ ong, and ardent 



9 

mind a glow of tenderness and love ; which caused one in a moment of 
rapture to s ay, 

" Woman — be kind — we must adore thee ; 
le — and a world is weak beiore thee." 

Is this i ted tone of feeling' and celestial goodness, that has 

distinguished the female character, whose mind has been conversant 
with literature, and expanded by erudition ? Is this the hallowed shrine 
of purity and bliss, that kings and nobles have thrown aside their crowns, 
diadems and royal honors of greatness "to offer their devotion." 

" Oh woman, how has thy gold become dim ; 
Thy fine gold become dross!" 

How has thy bosom, the home of love, peace, and rapture, joy and 
bliss, become the channel of slander's foul, polluted breath ? How hast 
thou beeome transfigured from an angel of peace, to a political bully, go- 
ing forth with vengence, and all its attendanl evils against your govern- 
ment and her faithful supporters, who claim your respect, who com- 
mand your regard, for their faithful, ardious services, and high elevated 
stations they fill with honor to their country. 

Eeho'ld ! Van Burenwho with Jackson strayed, 
Approve the measures which his wisdom laid ; 
Now boldly meets and stems corruptions course — 
Defeats bank measures with a Tully's force ; 
Our country groans beneath Lord Biddle's feet, 
Flies to Van Buren for a safe retreat — 
There will she triumph and in safety be, 
America, blest freedom belongs to thee, 
And when the demons of the tempest rave, 
"He will conduct the vessel through the wave, 
He'ill breast the billow — every danger meet, 
Cast firm his anchor when the tempest beat, 
Struggling for life and agonized with pains, 
See Biddle's bank while great Van Buren reigns, 
W.ho saw the monster grasping virtue's toil, 
And soon would claim our treasury as his spoil; 
He broke the charm that poised her lofty flight, 
And sunk her glory to the shades of night. 

: Tlie mechanics of this country are a discerning, intelligent part of so- 
ciety. They are true to their country — they are true to their honor — 
they are tenacious of their rights — they are not thursting and panting 
after the pomps and regale honors that hold out such a powerful charm 
to minds absorbed by averaee, and urged on in a political controversy 
by the heated influence of pride and ambition ; they dare to think and act 
for themselves in choosing their rulers, and standing by them with he- 
roic firmness in the discharge of their high official duties; sustaining 
them in carrying out those measures which embrace the honor, pros 
perity, and happiness of their country, at home and abroad. Thi y are 
not to be turned from that strong, pure fount of demon acy v.aoso 



10 

streams are invigorating, clear, and healthy; whose bottom is sound 
and immovable. (I would most cordially invite my Whig and bank mis- 
sionary friend, Miss K., to come and try the efficacy of this purifying foun- 
tain =*nd she will be cured of her leprosy.) Will they put on the Whig 
uniform, which is like Joseph's coat of many colors ; or will they eat of 
the dish" of savory meet which Esau prepared to deceive his aged 
father, that he might obtain the portion intended for his brother, though 
it should be prepared and presented by the hand of a fair lady, with all 
that specious patriotism and love of country that warms her bosom, 
and has crained for her the palm of victory in revolutionizing men and 
measures" ultimately, is to be doifyed by the Whig confederation, but 
I fear the requisitions are beyond human effort; (to remove Mr. Van 
Buren and elevate Clay in his stead, and restore the Bank of the Uni- 
ted States ;) pity us heaven and deliver us from the fangs of that de- 
vouring monster. I would not in the simplicity and honesty of my heart, 
take from Mr. Henry Clay any of that greatness of soul he possesses ; 
I would not undervalue those shinning, political accomplishments, 
which are his; I would not throw a dark shade over his strong, ener 
aetic powers of eloquence: I would not stay ihe tide of approbation 
awarded to his useful, brilliant and highly improved talents as a states- 
man, which should be prized and estimated by all who love their coun- 
try, which has given birth to so much unequaled greatness, onsnrpaesed 
excellency, genuine and uncontaminated goodness Yet, with this for- 
midable hosl in his favor, to succeed Mr. Van Buren to the presi- 
dential chair, the means that are adopted to accomplish that object is a 
stain upon the honor of our country ; derogatory to the greatness of the 
American character. Is Mr. Clay to be pushed forward by his part.zans 
through slander the most foul; through reflections the most degrading ; 
through threats the most presuming against Mr. Van Buren, the purest, 
clearest orb in our political hemisphere; "the firm democratic back 
on which rest our beloved country weal?" The wise, enlightened pilot 
that will steer our prosperity, our interest, our happiness to a haven ol 
safety. Cherish him, sustain him, thou noble sons of a free republic, 
he is worthy your suffrage, your country, your honor, your domestic 
happiness, your dearest interests are identified with the sound policy 
and healthy measures that adorn and cling around his administration. 

I shall make a few more remarks on Miss Kenny's letter, and 1 have 
done (The attack and libel that was made upon the navy, she says 
was done for the purpose of relieving Messrs Woodbury, Poinsett, and 
Dickerson from the disgrace which their mismanagement had brought 
upon them, and saddled it on the navy.) There is so much ambiguity 
in the accusation— I am at a loss to reply. We should be clarely con- 
vinced where the erro. was, before we use recriminating and approbn- 
ous language; "but as it is a tissue of political perversion borne 
alono- with the poisonous breath of detraction and misguided zeal, which 
taints and lays waste to every thing good and great within its influence ; 
sparine nothing in its range of malice ;" like the polluted gale from the 
Upas tree, I will leave it to the venom of its own sting, and to re- 
turn to its native clime. If the South Sea expeditron was committed to 
the management of the officers of the department!, there is no 



11 

doubt but every measure was adopted to carry it through with wisdom, 
honor and safety. It was there interest to do so; the responsibility 
rested on then, and no one but a prejudiced mind could view it in any 
other light ; "even admit that all their expectations were not realized ; 
to err, is h inian, to forgive, divine." Even king Solomon, the wisest 
man that ever reigned, found falibility and disappointment attend ma- 
ny of his projects and measures, contrived with the clearest judgment 
and keenest penetration; but when in practical operation, were found 
insufficient to answer the object in view. Man is a finate crea- 
ture, and can not go beyond a given point; therefore his purest designs 
and most sanguine expectations are often baffled and frustrated. "So 
much for the exploring expedition, which I leave with those more able 
to defend its injured cause than myself from the arrows of a patriotic 
lady. My duty is not to be a busy-body in other men's matters." 

The next thing I will notice for a moment, is her reflection on the 
the origin of Mr. Van Buren. Had the malicious feeling, pointed with 
such bitterness, sprung from the busom of a mid-night assassin, whose 
heart was chilled with crime and the agonizing shrieks of his murdered 
victims; ''around whose interest no fond affections cling;" around 
whose destiny no sacred emotions are entwined to follow him through 
his reckless, wayward course of woe, danger and peril. He would have 
claimed my pity, my commiseration to see those noble powers, given 
him by omnipotent goodness for noble, high, and useful purposes, de- 
graded, sunk, and overwhelmed in guilt and crime ; but springing from 
the bosom of woman, the soft and downy pillow that cradled all the 
cares, and difficulties that agitate the soul of man and rock them sweet- 
ly to repose, and aided by a mind around which the loves and graces 
sport with pure celestial chastity, and from a pen dipted in the stream 
ofliteralurc and moral grandeur, how could she forget her high destina- 
tion, an I stoop so low, or did she s\or>p to conquer. Is the lofty, com- 
m ii lit) ; oak iess the object of admiration and delight, because it sprung 

• • i i ten ler scion, in yonder lonely desart forest, which grew, nur- 
tured by the dews and rays of heaven, tiii it became strong, dignified 
an I firm from i s own native substance, and has thrown its branches, 

r ■ :n, :1 mrishiiig and healthy, far and wi !e, beneath which friend and 
I i . -nan er, alien, rich and poor, can find safety and protection, while 
its trunk strengthened and matured by time, stands unshaken and defies 
the pelting of the rushing storm. Is yonder pure and lovely lily of the 
vale less charming to the eye, pleasing to the heart, or fragrant to the 
senses, because it opened its lovely bud in some sequestered spot, and 
strews its perfume to the desart air? Is yonder bright luminary of heav- 
en less refulgent with light, love and joy, because men often obscures 
its resplendent rays with mist, clouds, and tempests. No. But as he 
moves on his destined course, in his own native grandeur, brilliant 
rays of light break through and dispels every passing cloud, and bursts 
upon an astonished world wilh dazzling glories ; so it is with genius 
and greatness of mind, which is not confined to the palaces of the rich 
and powerful. Tiie humble cot has given birth to the greatest and best 
men that ever lived, who have been elevated to the highest pinnacle of 
honor, by the strength of intrinsic worth and arduous perseverance in 



1<2 



the path that leads to the hill of science, there to luxuriate on their store- 
house of inestimable treasures acquired in early liie by the meritorious 
exertion of their own powers. They come forlh ion gazing world like a 
star, clear and bright. No lacitude did indo ence hang about their in- 
tellectual strength, acquired in the lap of luxury and grandeur, by those 
who depend on adventurous circumstances and the influence of wealth 
to gain for them honor and greatness, which only belongs tomerit, good- 
ness and firm integrity of principles. It matters not how humble or 
obscure its orj in may be, for man in his highest earthly glory, is but a 
reed floating on the stream of time, ami forced to follow every new di- 
rection of the current. How necessary is it then he should imbibe those 
cardinal virtues so often called into action as he ascends the hillofemi- 
nence and fame, which lay before him, surroundad by the polluted 
streams of corruption, pride and averace, that would feign in its dark 
polluted channel, swept along every thin worth 
but virtue and true greatness has the arm of omnipotence for its shield ; 
the smile and approbation of heaven for its protection. 

Suppose Miss Kenny's allegation and reflection was true, respec 
Mr. Van Buren's humble parentage; suppose his father was a c 
and his mother a tinker, are thej ctoftheps v< of 

of heaven on that accounl ; are their happiness, feelings and interest 
less dear, less sacred, less worthy of th tion of our blest in 

tions, and the regard and warm affections of a free republic, or he less 
worthy the wreath of honor and greatu -ss his merit claims at the hand 
of a grateful, discerning, true hearted independent nation. Our coun- 
try s freedom and independence rest on the unsullied honor — tin 
humble merit and firm, unshaken democratic principles, that ach 
through the brightest deeds of dari national victory 

that ever adorned tl ane history. T 

the foundation for all the now enjoy on the adamant 

ciples of equal rights, equal qual blessings of this fa- 

vored land, purchased h patriots, honest, and firm 

hearted heroes, who left their hun i maintain their 

rights, or perish in i from the sia 

action, and left their posterity to watch 
eye: to resist every advance; to frustrate 
conflict with the maintenance of ly of wisdom, 

unfailing honoi f Ameri- 

ca, who are not yel ••'.; witchcraft, as to 

forget the Ihousan I .- from \ i 

crimsoned pi tin ; f om 
its loamy bosom I 

and death, th tl the mij hi inherit the 

be unmindful of that epoch i our his r. Ther 

ever been a nob! 
monster, avei 

grasping the produi | wise 

creator has blessed for il unfort and support < this i 

Bpot, where the destilut< widow and the i her right and 

tion, tin ii thevaloi and blood oftl . and cold, dead 



13 

to ever feeling of honor, is that heart, sacrilegious that hand that would 
tear from them those blessings, to glut their mercenary, avoricious souls, 
and pamper and fill the coffers of a foreign empire. Mr. Van Buren 
should be prized as one of that heroic band, who has resisted those bewil- 
dered miscreants even into death. Americans be not ungrateful for his 
faithful, arduous efforts for his country's good in time ot peril, in days 
gone by : appreciate his wise policy; his unshaken firmness in defeat- 
ing plots and measures, which if carried through would have saped and 
blasted your dearest interest, and thrown around your necks the yoke of 
bondage; sustain him in all those fundamental principles of democracy, 
that build our national edifice on the rock of ages, whose bulwark can 
not be moved by all the monopolizing powers at home, or the leagued 
forces of a British empire. I know it is possible for a nation to prove 
ungrateful : to be so blindc ! by corruption and hurried on with misguided 
zoa!, as to be incapable ol discerning the good from tne evil; bul I fondly 
hope this black stain will never be found in the American character. 

Mr. Van Buren has emerged from the peaceful shades of private life 
by gradual ascension to his present elevaied post of honor; like a me- 
teor, in the etherial world, moving majestically on with iis train of won- 
der and admiration; so he has appeared upon our political hemisphere 
with ail that grandeur and !i rht of intellect that throws around a nation's 
greatness, a halo of glory and fame, which is the pride and boast of her 
independent s< ns, who base their country's greatness and honor on 
true merit and sterling worth. 

I think my fair arch!]-, Miss Kenny, has drawn her bow at a venture, 
ns her arrow has missed its object, and gone in a random direction. 
She has some skill, 1 must confess in the art, for her aim is death and 
destruction without mercy. 

She says, (she is not surprised that the Globe should originate and 
circulate such a tissue of falsehoods ; for its fitness for any low purpose 
and recklessness of principle, she has long been persuaded ;) how in 
the name of common reason could it originate with the Globe, when 
she accuses the President and his cabinet as being the authors in an- 
other part of her letter. It is her sickly imagination that has made a 
mountain of a molehill. Why should it be thought a slander, or libel 
on the navy, to say ihev had adopted the maxims and principles of cob- 
blers and tinkers? In all human probability some of them might have 
been in thathonest, respectable occupation, and left it for the profession 
of arms, to gratify the dame of honorable patriotism that wanned their 
bosoms. The remark might have been made through the columns of 
the Globe, without any malicious intent. 1 have been an impartial, atten- 
tive reader of the Globe for two years, and I think for clearness f -per- 
ception, strength and consistency of argument, with principles firm, no- 
ble, and generous to the faults of others, it ranks equal, if not supe- 
rior, to any journal in the district; to say nothing of its faithful, untir- 
ing exertions to lay before the public machinations, snares, and high 
handed monopoly, that was clothing our beloved country in mourning, 
far and wide, and ultimately would have brought it under the govern- 
ment of Biddle-ma-light doctrines, and for this it has a legion against it. 

I have swelled my letter far beyond my intention. One word to my 
fair friend's correspondent, who signs himself William Darlington. ? 



14 

must confess I am at a loss how lo reply lo the epithets that must have 
sprung up in the hot-bed of malice and rancour the most deadly, and 
found its way to the tongue of Robisphere, there to bite with the 
venom of a viper; and can it be possible that viper coils within the bo- 
som of a member of congress, invested with the honor and welfare of 
his country; dignified and ennobled by worth and talent, which should 
be his claim to a seat in the hall of our capitol, where his eloquence, 
pure and enrapturing as the lurid rays of heaven that burst upon the as- 
tonished mind, fascinated with its grandeur. Can a mind so dark and 
deranged by prejudice, be capable of discharging his duty, (as he is 
pledged to do,) with that cool deliberation, sound and impartial judg- 
ment; aided by perspicuity of thought, clear, and bright astiuth and 
honesty, which his country claims at his hands. 

Say Nicholas why will thou stay in 
Vaults of massive gold, 

Or where costly plate fills thy luxurious board ; 
But then thou should needs intrude to meddle in the State ; 
But a pamper low will intrude to meddle with the great. 
Has thou not found no safe retreat in nationality, 
Or hasthy British friends still found 
Thee lettered to thy foe. 

When (Sub) has found upon thy form, 
When will thou give that long adieu, to grasping monopoly! 
Or art thou willing yet to live in shades of vanity ! 
O tyrant (lee — thy race is run — 
Thou still would feign that innocence 
That's far from thy despotic brow — 

Thou'd grasp the sceptre and sway with unremitted rage ; 
With robes of state thou'd grasp the sword, 
And hurl the freeman from his land of liberty. 

Thy hidden vaults shall proclaim the tale that's yet untold, 
Thou'd lead the Van with royal rage, 

from his triumphant band. 
Rise — thy deeds are done of darkness and unhallowed fame' 
Like Napoltan too thou'd send thy gods of gold, 
Who with thy otd -is stained the on ■ tli ' nt reat; 
Go teli thy friends a far thai liberl 
And lories fallen w ith the si: 
And a thousand tongues shall ; • til 
Victory over Lord Biddle's re; 

ELIZA B. RUNNELLS. 




• <a v *^ 

A 



1** * 






' • . • 





<r* # 



* ^ 




A ^ •<? *'7S<fflW->> ■ay ^ 





4 o>. 




G ^ '° • * 




* A <*■ ** t* G v 



G ♦* 

°^, ""- A ^ "* *** °^ 

**U a - * 

„. * aV v^. . 



'x. 





V . tf 



»• *A * *<TvT* .0^ ^> '••»• *A 















<A <. ^TVV* .G v o, '• • » * *A 



^d* 



*oV* 



'<\\~ 




V^V v^v v^V 

..as.., a a 







